Texas Sea Life Suffering in Freezing Waters

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In a heartwarming turn of events for Texas animals suffering in extreme cold, local game wardens have rescued thousands of stunned sea turtles in the Brownsville Ship Channel.

According to the National Park Service," If water temperatures drop below approximately 50°F (10°C), sea turtles become lethargic and are unable to swim.

Thankfully tireless efforts were made to help them, with rescued sea turtles literally filling the lobby of the South Padre Island Convention Centre!

Check out this Youtube video from Guardian News.

Sadly for fish in the shallow bay waters in our area, not much could have been done to save them, leaving countless saltwater fish to freeze. Many fishermen in our area have reported seeing hundreds of dead fish pushed up to shore in our area which will likely limit fishing throughout the season.

In fact, Fishgame.com reports that "countless trout were washing up between Aransas Pass and Port A", offering, " We have also heard of massive amounts of mullet, spot, croaker and sand trout in the nearby Rockport area as well as the tarpon and snook we reported yesterday in Port Mansfield.

"The high mortality that a freeze can cause may deplete fish stocks for years,” said Robin Riechers, director of TPWD’s Coastal Fisheries Division.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department released a statement offering, " The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has issued a temporary closure to saltwater fishing along parts of the Texas coast to protect resources during freezing weather conditions.  Adding that, " in addition to killing game fish in shallow bay waters, a hard freeze can also cause surviving fish to congregate in a few deeper areas where they become sluggish and prone to capture". Those are the areas the TPWD had temporarily closed earlier this week.

Today the TPWD posted that  "Texas coastal waters will close to crabbing with wire mesh crab traps for 10 consecutive days beginning Friday, Feb. 19. Due to the unprecedented winter weather that has impacted the state this week, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is asking volunteers in this removal effort to wait until Monday, February 22nd before removing any traps with buoys from the open water.

We will continue to monitor and report on our coastal marine life during the freeze.